Liberal Government of Canada Bypassing Canadian for Foreign Technology

"It was a slap in the face. We seem to have a problem in this country buying our own, made-in-Canada solutions. It's a lack of national pride."

"DND [Department of National Defence] thinks Canadian companies should be happy with secondary work, doing logistics or setting up antennas."

Dipak Roy, Chairman, D-TA Systems 

BAE Systems

 

Despite having worked on a number of contracts for the Canadian Department of National Defence, mostly preparatory work for the longer vision of an over-the-hoirizon-radar project for which D-TA received funding for the development of such a system, Mr. Roy is disturbed that his firm had not been consulted in any meaningful way by the very Canadian government that had promoted D-TA, speaking of it as a success story in its development of unique industrial technologies.

 

With 50 employees, D-TA Systems delivered a working radar to Defence Research and Development Canada, the DND science agency based in the national capital, Ottawa. Established in 2007, D-TA Systems was involved in defence projects in the United States, Canada and other NATO nations, as well as Japan. Working on over-the-horizon radar since 2011 for various DND and U.S. military projects, it has not only the leading technology, but the experience in installing it. 

The actual initial capability for the new dedicated system was with the firm, for which DND spent $30 million. Accordingly a number of systems have been delivered. The Liberal government's decision to contract with an Australian company for a new radar system for a recently announced $6-billion project for the Department of National Defence over-the-horuzon radar system left Mr. Roy in disbelief, since his company has been a leader in producing such systems for DND and companies who supply the U.S. military.

 

The March 18 announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney that a system to detect incoming missiles over the Arctic was planned, and that the chosen supplier would be in Australia, along with the British firm BAE to provide the technology, made little practical sense to Mr. Roy who pointed out that the Australian government will own the intellectual property rights for the system whereas with D-TA radars, Canada itself has full control over such rights. 

Over-the-horizon radar has the capacity to conduct surveillance at far greater ranges than ordinary radar technology, extending the distance of capabilities by bouncing signals off the ionosphere -- a layer of the Earth's atmosphere that reflects radio waves. The minimum range for the radar is estimated to be 500 kilometres, the maximum range could be over 3,000 kilometres. The system's purpose is meant to track aircraft, missiles and surface ships.

 

Australia's defence minister lauded the contract which would significantly give advantage to the country's defence firms, while Australian media outlets point to the Canadian project as the largest defence export agreement in Australian history. Mr. Roy turns that around, stating that Canadian firms would be left with support work if they were lucky.

 

Among domestic aerospace and defence companies in Canada, frustration is growing that the Liberal government has passed over Canadian technology -- rather deciding to opt for foreign systems. The lack of Canadian-built systems on board the new Canadian Surface Combatant ships, originally to be outfitted with a command system developed in Canada called the CMS-330, failed to materialize when the Liberal government approved use of an American radar and command system, gifting the United States with full control over a critical capability for the Canadian fleet.

 

An aerial view of a portion of Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN). Australian Department of Defense

 

"Prime Minister Carney announced that Canada intends to partner with Australia to develop advanced Over-the-Horizon Radar technology. This partnership will include developing Canada’s Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar system, an investment of more than $6 billion [Canadian dollars; approximately $4.18 billion U.S. dollars at the rate of conversion at the time of reporting] that will provide early warning radar coverage from threats to the Arctic."

"A key component of Canada’s NORAD modernization plan, the radar system’s long-range surveillance and threat tracking capabilities will detect and deter threats across the North. The Prime Minister confirmed the partnership in his call with the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, earlier today."

PMO press release